Mortgages

Rank and file workers at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week were told that there will be no "merit salary" increases in 2012, according to a memo provided to National Mortgage News.

With the crush of foreclosures, analysts have implored smaller banks to dump bank-owned properties, even if it means taking a big loss.

An offhand, deleterious comment about mortgage brokers by President Obama has raised the ire of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers - and brought a strong rebuke from trade group president Donald Frommeyer.

By yearend RealtyTrac reported that foreclosure activity decreased by 3% compared to the previous month, and by 14% compared to November of 2010, but that a nine-month high in scheduled foreclosure auctions suggested that a "new set of incoming foreclosure waves" may be coming. I'm not so sure I agree.

When water stops seeping through a drain and sits in a sink, a plumber typically faces a clogged-up drain. That plumber's tools include a plunger and a snake pipe. The mortgage industry's foreclosure situation is a lot like that clogged drain.

A House Financial Services subcommittee has approved a bill that would establish a foundation for a new private-label securitization market for mortgages.

UMH Properties Inc., a Freehold, N.J. real estate investment trust that owns manufactured housing communities, has received a new $15.5 million mortgage from Oritani Finance Co., a subsidiary of Oritani Bank. The loan is a refinance secured by five MH communities located in Pennsylvania.

Kirchmeyer & Associates, an appraisal and real estate data company, is rebranding itself as The Kirchmeyer Group and has created a new division to offer alternative valuation products.

The average weekly Freddie Mac survey rate for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped 5 basis points during the week ending Dec. 15, returning to its record low of 3.94% for the first time since the week ending Oct. 6.

Are the challenges of a difficult market bringing business intelligence technology to the fore in mortgage lending?

A healthy mortgage/housing market relies on two key factors: low rates and robust employment. We have the former, but the latter seems to be lacking - big time. Or is there true hope on the horizon?

The Mortgage Bankers Association said it is now adamantly opposed to any radical change in servicing compensation and has launched a "call to action" campaign, urging its members to heavily lobby the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Foreclosure filings involving default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions were down 3% in November across the country from the previous month, according to RealtyTrac's latest foreclosure report.

The Comptroller of the Currency is advising banks to review their foreclosure policies and procedures, urging them to address the risks associated with taking possession of homes, acquiring the properties and becoming the actual owner.

Former FHA commissioner David Stevens, who now heads the Mortgage Bankers Association, says hiking GSE guarantee fees to fund an extension of the payroll tax cut is "bad policy," calling such a maneuver a "slippery slope."

The backlog of real estate-owned homes held by banks and the government is "staggering," Fitch Inc. said this week.

Neil Barofsky, the former special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, this week hammered the Obama Administration and Treasury Department at a panel discussion on the foreclosure crisis, saying fears of a political backlash led to the administration's tepid response to the housing crisis and refusal to back principal reductions.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has again delayed implementation of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program, an initiative to update and streamline the loan and appraisal data collected by the government-sponsored enterprises.

In 1997 there was no Google. In 2002 there was no Facebook. There was no Twitter in 2004, and the iPad only made its debut in 2009. There is no indication that the pace of innovation will slow, so how can you plan for the future when the target is moving, and moving quickly?

Wells Fargo & Co. continued to dominate the origination landscape in the third quarter, funding $90 billion of product and amassing a market share of just over 25%—the largest reading ever for one lender.